New Jaguar XF

Jaguar has unveiled full details and photos of the first car that will carry Jaguar’s new design language - the Jaguar XF. The Jaguar XF is a 4-door sedan with a sexy roofline (drag coefficient is 0.29cD), and I think it proves Jaguar still has it - the ability to create beautiful and fast cars that has been part of the Jaguar philosophy.

On the inside, the Jaguar XF features the new JaguarDrive Selector, the first rotary dial-based shift-by-wire shifter which Jaguar thinks is more precise and intuitive while saving space at the same time, allowing better utilization of interior space.

There is also plenty of geekery on the interior for those who are into that kind of stuff. For one, the XF’s air-conditioning vents present a flush dashboard surface until the ignition is switched on, at which point they elegantly rotate to the open position. JaguarSense uses touch and proximity control to manage the overhead console lights and glovebox release. The parking brake uses Jaguar’s Electric Paring Brake which you can operate from a small chromed release in the center console. This parking brake automatically disengages when the shifter is put into Drive.

There are 4 engines available, all mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifting. The base petrol unit is an all-aluminium 3.0 liter DOHC V6 engine with Continuously Variable Cam Phasing and variable geometry air intakes. It makes 240 horsepower and 293Nm of torque with 80% of that available below 1,500rpm and up to a maximum speed of 6,800rpm.

There is also a larger normally aspirated 4.2 liter V8 that makes 300 horsepower and 411Nm of torque. A supercharged version of this engine in the SV8 model uses a rotor-type supercharger making 420 horsepower and 560Nm of torque.

Of course, there is also an oil-burning Jaguar XF powered by a 2.7 liter V6 turbodiesel with twin variable geometry turbochargers making 207 PS and 435Nm of torque. Jaguar says this is the lightest diesel engine of it’s type and size, thanks to it’s Compacted Graphite Iron cylinder block and aluminium cylinder heads.

To bring the car to a stop, all XF models use large 326mmx20mm vented front discs and 326mmx20mm rear discs, except for the SV8 Supercharged model which uses larger 355mmx32mm vented front discs.

Jaguar has taken much effort to ensure NVH levels in this car is excellent. At 50km/h, interior noise level is only 65.6dB.

Germans Land on Saturn and Things Shape Up

THE English have an automotive lexicon all their own, including terms like “bonnet” for hood, “saloon” for sedan and, one of my favorites, “tickover” for idle. Another phrase, “cheap and cheerful” — mentally supply a chirpy British accent — describes a car that doesn’t cost much but is pleasant and enjoyable nonetheless.

For most of Saturn’s 22-year history, cheap and cheerful described its cars to an English “T.” (Tea?) The prices were certainly cheap, and General Motors’ indie brand built its name on cheerful dealers who group-hugged customers at company homecomings, grilled them hot dogs in the parking lot and sold them cars with no nasty haggling.

The cars themselves, plastic-skinned drones often inflicted by parents on unsuspecting progeny, were altogether less sunny. And when G.M. repaid Saturn’s early success by starving it of nutritious new products, the customers dried up as well.

Now Saturn is making a comeback, but the cars aren’t really emanating from Detroit. There is a good reason that some of the new Saturns — the no-apologies Aura sedan, the new Vue crossover utility wagon and a crisp Astra compact yet to come — are easily the best-looking, best-driving cars ever to grace a Saturn dealership: they’re German.

Specifically, they’re Opels, courtesy of G.M.’s Deutsche division. Sure, they’re wearing Saturn badges on their metal (no more plastic) lapels, and get a nip here and a tuck there from United States designers and engineers. But the Astra, Aura and Vue are near clones of the respective Opel Astra, Vectra and Antara models sold in Europe.

The cultural exchange pays dividends for the Vue. It is one of the shapeliest compact crossovers, with a trendy sloping roof and a crisp, sporty profile. The lines especially popped in Sunburst Orange, which recalls the signature shade of the Range Rover Sport. (Less flattering were the Rover-style fake cooling vents on the sides).

Like its main rivals — including the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 and Hyundai Santa Fe — the Saturn is pitched at the general electorate, avoiding both macho bluster and cheek-pinching cuteness.

Now, hold tight, because the ride gets confusing: The Vue offers three engines, two automatic transmissions and multiple trim levels, including a mild hybrid called the Green Line (available in November) and a sporty Red Line. The 2009 Vue, out next summer, will offer G.M.’s more robust two-mode hybrid system, promising a 45 percent improvement in fuel economy. Further in the future, G.M. plans to configure the Vue as a plug-in hybrid.

The basic front-drive XE version employs a 2.4-liter 4-cylinder with 169 horsepower and a four-speed automatic. The XE with all-wheel drive gets a 222-horsepower 3.5-liter pushrod V-6 and six forward speeds. Finally, the XR and Red Line models get a 3.6-liter overhead-cam V-6 with variable valve timing and a whomping 257 horsepower — enough to challenge the burliest model in the class, the 269-horsepower RAV-4.

A 3.5-liter Honda V-6 that was previously available in the Vue is no longer offered.

I tested XR models with both front-wheel drive and the optional all-wheel-drive system, which adds $2,000 to the XR’s $24,895 base price. And the first thing to strike me was the appealing interior, a far cry from the spotty Saturn cabins of old.

Not wanting to be a soft touch, I started feeling around for the usual telltale signs of G.M.’s attention-deficit disorder: ragged plastic edges, wobbly switches, mismatched textures.

There were none. The leather-wrapped shifter felt tight and looked good. The parking brake pivoted with well-calibrated resistance and no ratchety noise. The rear cup holders slid from their cubby with lubricated ease. Could this really be a Saturn?

The central touch screen with the navigation map is a dead ringer for those on Cadillacs. It’s a pricey option at $2,145, but it’s blessedly easy to read and operate. And the XR versions were stuffed with standard gear, including side- and head-curtain air bags, stability control, antilock brakes, 17-inch alloy wheels, a tire pressure monitor, active whiplash-preventing head restraints, foglamps, roof rails, the OnStar communications system and three free months of XM Satellite Radio. The leather-trimmed seats were notably well bolstered and sculptured, even in back. The front seats provoked one demerit: Longer-legged occupants may find the cushions too short and lacking in thigh support.

While the Vue’s interior is stylish, it’s not especially space-efficient. The Vue carves out the least cargo space of its main rivals — whether behind the second row or with all the seats folded — thanks to that low-slung hatch and intrusive rear wheel wells. Both the RAV4 and CR-V can stow 30 percent more gear with the rear seats folded, and the RAV4 and Santa Fe manage to squeeze in toddler-size third rows. The Vue does feature a sliding rail system in the back that lets you adjust the cargo nets to hold items of different sizes.

On the road, the Saturn felt solid, powerful and mostly pleasant. Appropriate for the Vue’s mainstream demographic, the suspension is like Wonder Bread — soft and spongy, with noticeable body lean in turns. (A bit surprisingly, it’s the latest Toyota RAV4 V-6 that is now the sportiest, rip-roaringest half-pint crossover.) But the Saturn’s ride was commendably smooth and the steering predictable.

The Saturn displayed a tendency to roll forward a good three or four inches, before coming to a full halt, after I slotted the shifter into park. A Saturn engineer said the distance fell within company specifications.

If you’ve been known to tromp the gas pedal, you may want to avoid pairing the big V-6 with front drive: That version cooked up as much torque steer — the overstressed front tires twisting the steering wheel in my hands — as any vehicle I’ve tested lately. The all-wheel-drive version, which diverts power to the rear wheels, tamed that sensation.

Unfortunately, that honkin’ 3.6-liter engine produces discouragingly low mileage: its rating is 16 m.p.g. in town and 22 on the highway. The four-cylinder front-drive Vue matches the 19/26 rating for a RAV4 V-6 with all-wheel drive — though the Toyota produces 100 more horsepower.

One culprit is a chart-topping curb weight of 4,325 pounds, which exceeds the comparable Toyota by about 650 pounds and the Honda by nearly 800.

Now about the price: My front-drive XR test car was $28,440, and the nearly loaded all-wheel-drive model ran the tab to $31,295. (A modest XE AWD starts at $24,515; the plainest Vue is $21,395.) The prices are in line with competitors, so they’re not unfair, just unfamiliar. Not long ago, there wasn’t much above $20,000 at a Saturn store; now there’s not much below. That’s the thing about German cars: they’re not cheap.

But for practically the first time, Saturn drivers can find reasons to be cheerful behind the wheel — not just when they’re hanging at the dealership, wolfing down a hot dog or two.

10 YouTube Tips for Success

YouTube can be a prime source of traffic if used to it’s full advantage. Here’s 10 tips i’ve compiled which might help you get your videos more attention on YouTube.

1. Quality - Probably the primary tip above all is quality. Whatever you’re recording, use a quality camera, edit it well and make sure the final product is something you’re happy with. Try to get rid of any flaws so that you’re video is as good to watch as possible.

2. Be Helpful - People like free help, so if you’re just going to make videos constantly promoting things, chances are you wont get far. If you’re an expert on something, even if you don’t give away primary information or advice. Give something, some inside tips, your opinion on matters within your topic, make yourself a Guru on something you know and people will listen.

3. Post Regular Videos - If your account is starting to see some good success, don’t slow down. That’s the key to speed up and post good videos as often as possible. People like regularity, if someone loves your videos but you post once every month, chances are eventually they’ll find someone better and more regular and slowly forget about you.

4. Keep Em’ Waiting - One way to attract more focused users is also to post videos which are absolute class, but maybe only once a week. Establish some regularity but so much that you keep them wanting more. Too much too quick can make people get sick of you, post quality, timed quality.

5. Embed - If you’ve got an already successful site based on your topic you’re posting videos on, yet you’re not embedding them on your site. You’re missing a big opportunity to get some easy views to your videos. Spread your videos in anyway you can and don’t hold back on embedding when you can.

6. Break News - If you maybe run some sort of news site on a certain topic or maybe just don’t do your own thing in your videos or give your opinion or whatever, a good way to get a video noticed is to break news. Uploading reports and stories on world events before anyone else will usually bring alot of views.

7. Presentation - If you’re going to give your opinion on things in your videos, make sure you set yourself apart. Don’t purposely be unnaturally stupid if that’s not you, but make sure you’re yourself. If in real life your not boring, don’t be boring on a video, don’t present your videos in a certain way just to comply with social expectancy. Be yourself.

8. Follow Suit - If your purely interested in getting your videos viewed alot and nothing else, for financial purposes or whatever, one simple way obviously is to ‘follow suit’ look at the most successful people on YouTube. The biggest videos and ‘do what they do’ don’t emulate them fully but try and conclude what’s making their videos successful. But obviously alot of the time the only real answer is ‘them’ they put effort in, simple as that. So the only way to really follow suit is to do the same.

9. Spread Your Videos - This is obviously just common sense, unless you get lucky and get featured or for some weird reason your video just virally explodes by pure inexplicable chance, the best way to get your videos seen is to spread them. MSN, email, forums, however and whenever possible, let people know your videos are there and people will eventually take notice, if you keep up persistence.

10. Originality - Usually it’s best, in general marketing… to pick something and improve it. Coming up with something absolutely purely original is hard and can involve luck, maybe not actual ‘luck’ but some viral spread you can’t really explain with logic… people just like it, so trying to produce an absolute unique product or service can be financially fatal. But on YouTube, it cost nothing to try. Be as original as you can, whilst being natural, make videos on things you are passionate about as intellectual passion is the one thing which actually evokes true natural originality in your thoughts.

Merdeka Millenium Endurance 2007 video

Forest fires kill 19 in southern Greece

ZAHARO, Greece - Fires raced across dry woodlands in southern Greece on Friday, sweeping into mountainous towns and villages and killing at least 19 people, the country’s deadliest forest fire toll in decades, officials said.

At daybreak Saturday, fire crews backed by military helicopters and soldiers prepared to search through burned villages, the fire department said, and there were fears the death toll would rise. Throughout the night, tens of villages were reported to have been surrounded by walls of flames, with desperate residents phoning television and radio stations and appealing for help.

Hot, dry winds — at times gusting to gale force — fueled the flames and prevented firefighting planes from taking off for much of the day Friday. That left just ground forces to deal with fires scorching the rugged mountains of the southern Peloponnese and elsewhere, occasionally helped by helicopters and residents using their garden hoses.

Scores of separate fires burned in several parts of Greece with the most concentrated blazes in the rugged mountains of the Peloponnese region to the southwest of Athens, officials said. A recent heat wave with temperatures reaching 104 degrees has left many forests and scrublands tinder dry.

Firefighters struggled to control blazes in the western Ionian islands through mainland Greece and down to the south. A fire on the island of Evia north of the capital grew through the night, and the authorities declared a state of emergency, said Sofia Moutsou, the mayor of the town of Styra.

“If we don’t stop this now there will be nothing left,” she said on Antenna radio. She was hoping ferries could transport fire trucks to the island to help tackle the blaze.

Dozens of soldiers were helping the firefighters, and the military was sending 500 more troops and several helicopters at first light on Saturday, fire department spokesman Nikos Diamandis said.

“Our efforts are now focusing on saving human lives wherever there are people trapped, and on limiting the fronts,” Diamandis said, adding that four villages were in particular danger.

The deadliest fires were in the Peloponnese, where officials said many people were feared trapped by the flames in mountainous villages in the west, near the town of Zaharo, about 125 miles west-southwest of Athens.

Andonis Krespis, deputy mayor of the town of Zaharo, said he and others tried to flee the flames through a field, some abandoning their cars to run on foot. He escaped with burns on his face, but at least 12 people, including three firefighters, died, the fire department said. Nine of those — including three firefighters — died after a car crashed into a fire truck and led to a pile up as residents tried to flee the area.

At dawn, the smoldering remains of the fire truck could be seen overturned in a gully off the road, and the charred wreckage of cars and a motorbike lay strewn across the road.

“We are living through an unspeakable tragedy today,” Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said Friday on a visit to the Zaharo region.

The government appealed to European Union countries to “send any help they can,” acting Interior Minister Spyros Flogaitis said after an emergency meeting of Greece’s civil protection authority.

The blazes even reached into the capital where a fierce fire broke out during the night in a park in the upscale neighborhood of Filothei, a few miles north of the city center, the fire department said. Ten truck units battled the blaze.

Apart from the 11 deaths near Zaharo, one more person was found dead in a separate fire near the town of Amaliada to the north, officials said. Near the town of Areopolis, 125 miles southwest of Athens, five people burned to death — including two whose charred bodies were found locked in an embrace. A firefighter also died of a heart attack while battling flames.

Several homes went up in flames. Residents and local officials called television stations and pleaded for help. One woman said she was among about 20 people, including children, trapped in the village of Rodina.

“We can see the fire in front of us. It’s at our feet,” the woman, who did not give her name, told private Antenna television by phone. “We’re choking on the smoke.”

Ambulances struggled to reach the area, where television footage showed flames towering above homes and turning the night sky orange.

Three major fires continued burning out of control on Friday evening in the southern Peloponnese: one near Areopolis, one on Mount Taigetos and another on Mount Parnonas to the east. Authorities declared a state of emergency in two areas.

Major roads, including the highway between Sparta and the town of Kalamata in the south, were closed. Local television footage showed residents with garden hoses joining firefighters to battle the flames.

The fires damaged four power lines, leading to blackouts across the south, the power company said. On Taigetos, where the fire broke out on Thursday afternoon, two firefighting planes in the area were unable to take off for most of Friday because of winds gusting near 40 mph. Three water-dropping helicopters managed to fly only occasionally.

Strategies: The best business ideas travel in groups

Building a company can be lonely work. One way to reduce your isolation and gain a wealth of knowledge is by forming an advisory committee. I’ve had advisory committees for two of the companies I’ve owned, and I’ve found them to bring experience, skills, contacts — and friendship.

How do you go about setting up an advisory committee? Who should you ask? What can you reasonably ask — or expect — them to do for you? How much time will this take, of your time or theirs?

First, know the difference between an advisory committee and a board of directors.

A board of directors is a legal entity, with legal responsibilities and legal liabilities. If you’re incorporated and have more than one shareholder, you’ll need a board of directors. They control your company — their decisions are binding. If you have investors, especially venture capitalists, they’ll expect to have representation on the board.

Members of an advisory committee, on the other hand, have no legal authority over the company and assume no liability.

There are no set rules about advisory committees, such as how often they have to meet, how many people serve on it. In fact, your advisory committee can be so informal that you don’t even name it; you just have a group of people to turn to for advice. But forming an official advisory committee forms a closer bond between you and your advisors. They’ll take their involvement seriously and be committed to your success.

•Who to ask?

People you respect. Look for people with good judgment, experience and wisdom. Ideally, they’ll either be from the industry you’re in, seasoned entrepreneurs, or those who have skills you need such as a terrific marketer. Be careful when choosing potential investors. If they choose not to invest, it sends a negative message to other prospects. Also be wary of asking potential customers, employees or competitors.

•How many members should you have?

A few. I’ve never had more than five or six. A very large advisory committee looks a bit suspicious — as if you’ve just rounded up every name you could think of.

• How often should you meet?

Perhaps never. I never held even one meeting of my first advisory committee. What I did was call on individual members from time to time for help with specific concerns. One member helped me build my financial statements, another helped shape our marketing efforts, others introduced me to contacts or told me which conferences I needed to attend. All read my business plan, gave me real-life insights, and would return my phone calls when I needed help on a particular problem.

•How often should you call or e-mail?

Enough to get help but not enough to bug them. If you never call on your advisers, they’ll forget about you. Just be careful not to call too much. Advisors aren’t signing up for a job, and they’re all already overworked. I’d regularly keep them informed about what the company was up to, sending them e-mails, announcements, inviting them to company events. We’d each have lunch about once a quarter. But I respected their time, making them much more responsive when I did call.

•What do you pay them?

Not cash. Most of the people you want as advisors aren’t motivated by money — they’re motivated to help you succeed. You don’t really have to give them any financial reward if you’re careful not to impose on their time too significantly. However, granting stock is an appropriate form of compensation if yours is a fast-growing company that you expect to have acquired or go public one day. That means they share in the pay-off when you succeed.

Of course, make sure your advisers get any company trinkets — T-shirts, coffee mugs, pens. And invite them to the company holiday party!

•What advice should you ask for?

To share their expertise, contacts and judgment. Do not ask them to provide you with free professional services.

•Should you use their names in your business plan, on your website, or marketing materials?

Yes, if they’re willing. Having respected advisors can be a great advantage to a young company. It adds stature and makes make potential customers feel more confidence in doing business with you.

Tips for Trip Planning - Taking the Stress Out of Your Journey!

Friends have often expressed to me their disdain for preparing for a trip. Whether it’s solo travel or independent travel (with friends or family but not through an organized tour), the details can be overwhelming. Some fear booking the wrong dates for plane tickets with no recourse once they’ve hit the submit button online, while others don’t have the time it takes to do the research to find the deals.

For me, however, I LOVE planning for my adventures. And, I believe that this enthusiasm can be learned. It’s simply a matter of getting organized and knowing what steps are involved. Following these tips will help relieve the stress and doubt that comes with trip preparation for your solo or independent travel. You can then really enjoy the process!

1) Make a list of all the reservations you’ll need in advance including plane tickets, car rental, hotel(s) and restaurants.

2) Do a little research. Find out which airlines provide the lowest fares. Keep your eyes open for deals advertised in the travel section of major newspapers. Sign up for alerts from the airlines so you’ll know when tickets go on sale.

3) Don’t wait until the last minute to book. Not only are you almost guaranteed a better price if you book early (regardless of whether it’s a car rental or a plane ticket) but there will be more available options and less stress if you can get organized and confirmed in advance. Many airlines, car rental agencies and hotels will honor a lower price if you book and then the price drops. It will be up to you, however, to check back and request a refund or lower rate.

4) Farecast provides a trend analysis of airline fares over time. No guarantees, but when you’re in the planning stages you can determine if and when the prices might drop on your flights.

5) Book your first night’s hotel stay in each city. This can usually be done in-country at an internet café if you don’t know your full schedule ahead of time.

6) Make arrangements to have a taxi, shuttle or private driver pick you up from the airport, train station, etc. You won’t have to haggle with local touts clamoring for your business.

7) Pay for large expenses on a credit card that gives you mileage.

Sign up for a partner program or two so that you can get benefits from your hotel or car rental stay.

9) At least a week prior to your departure, let the packing begin. Start putting items aside that will end up in your luggage. Pack light and use compression bags to save space or organizers to keep like-items packed together.

10) During the days leading up to your trip, start gathering together and printing out your reservation confirmations and directions to all of your destinations. If you’re traveling where English is not the first language, write down a few phrases that will help your taxi or bus driver help you locate your first night’s accommodation (which you have wisely pre-booked). Keep these all together in one folder.

Most importantly, relax! Don’t expect the rest of the world to run on your schedule. Enjoy yourself, soak up your surroundings and make plenty of memories by meeting the locals and enjoying their food!

Ethiopia Travel Tips - - What to Know Before You Go

The Ethiopia travel tips below will help you plan your trip to Ethiopia. This page has information about visas, health, safety, when to go and money matters.

Visas
Every national (except Kenyans) need a visa to enter Ethiopia. Single-entry 1 -3 month tourist visas can be issued upon arrival at the Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa for most European, US, Australian and Canadian nationals (click here to see complete list). There is confusing information about whether you pay for visas with US Dollars (you need to prove you have at least $100) or Ethiopian currency (which you can get at the bureau de change at the airport). Either way, you’ll also need 2 passport size photographs. To get the most current visa information; for business visas and multiple-entry tourist visas, contact your local Ethiopian Embassy.

Proof of an onward or return ticket is frequently asked for upon arrival in Ethiopia. If you are planning to enter Ethiopia by land, you should obtain a tourist visa in advance from your local Ethiopian Embassy. Visas issued by embassies are valid from their date of issue so take this into consideration.

Health and Immunizations
Immunizations

A Yellow Fever vaccination certificate is no longer mandatory in order to enter Ethiopia, but if you’ve recently traveled to a country where it is present you will need proof of immunization. For US yellow fever vaccination clinics click here.

Several vaccinations are highly recommended when traveling to Ethiopia, they include:

* Yellow Fever
* Typhoid
* Hepatitis A
* Diphtheria
* Meningococcal

It is also recommended that you are up to date with your polio and tetanus vaccinations.

Make sure you start getting your vaccinations at least 8 weeks before you travel. Click here for a list of travel clinics near you. More information about vaccinations …

Malaria

There’s a risk of catching malaria in many parts of Ethiopia especially areas that lie below 2000 meters (6500 feet). So while the Highlands and Addis Ababa are considered low-risk areas for malaria, you still have to be careful and take precautions. Ethiopia is home to the chloroquine-resistant strain of malaria as well as the dangerous falciparum strain. Make sure your doctor or travel clinic knows you are traveling to Ethiopia (don’t just say Africa) so s/he can prescribe the right anti-malarial medication. Tips on how to avoid malaria will also help.

High Altitude

Addis Ababa and Ethiopia’s highlands (which you’ll be visiting if you’re planning on doing the historical circuit) are at high elevations. High altitude can affect healthy individuals in a number of ways including: dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath, fatigue and headaches.

Safety
For the most part traveling in Ethiopia is safe, but you should take the same precautions as you would traveling in any poor country (see below). It is also wise to avoid all border areas (with Somalia, Eritrea, Kenya and Sudan) since there’s still pockets of political unrest, and kidnapping of tourists in these areas have occurred in the past.

Basic safety rules for travelers to Ethiopia

* Make a copy of your passport and keep it in your luggage.
* Don’t walk on your own at night in Addis Ababa and other major tourist towns.
* Watch out for pickpockets at the Mercato in Addis Ababa
* Don’t wear jewelry.
* Don’t carry too much cash with you.
* Wear a money belt that fits under your clothes.
* Don’t carry a lot of camera equipment especially in the major cities.
* Avoid travel at night because roads are perilously filled with potholes, livestock, and broken down vehicles.

When to Go to Ethiopia
The best time to go to Ethiopia depends on what you’re planning to do when you get there. The tourist board markets Ethiopia as “the land of 13 months of sunshine” which is a little optimistic since there is a rainy season from June to September. But, depending on your interest, there are many good months to visit Ethiopia:

* The Historical Circuit (Lalibela, Gondar, Bahir Dar) — October to March.
* Trekking — October to March
* Omo River tribes — June to September and November to March
* Ethiopia’s major festivals — Timkat (19 January) and Meskel (end of September or early October.)

Currency and Money Matters
Foreign currency is rarely used in Ethiopia, instead you’ll be paying for most hotels, tours and food with Ethiopian currency — Birr. 1 Birr is divided into 100 cents. There are 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 Birr notes. The Birr is very stable and there is no significant difference between the official rate and black market rate. Click here for current exchange rates.

Cash, Credit Cards and ATM’s

The US Dollar is the best foreign currency to bring with you to Ethiopia and it can be exchanged at banks and foreign exchange bureaus. US Dollars can be carried in cash or travelers cheques.

Major credit cards can be used to pay for flights with Ethiopian Airlines and maybe 2 of the big hotels in Addis Ababa - but that’s about the extent of their usefulness. It’s best to bring cash and good old-fashioned traveler cheques.

ATM machines in Ethiopia do not recognize foreign debit or credit cards.

Sports career is over for tragic figure

Michael Vick deserves nothing less than the sacrifice of his sports career and whatever criminal sentence he will receive. This is a man who was paid insane amounts of money to compete in a sport, and his downfall will be chiseled into history and his name forever linked to the brutal, illegal “sport” of dog-fighting.

If it were alcohol and drugs leading him to his doom, some sympathy might be awarded for the highly addictive nature of these sins. Gambling? Again, it’s an addiction that carries a unique curse. Trouble with domestic or other physical violence? He is an athlete conditioned over a lifetime to physical confrontation, so maybe we could even forgive him for that.
But dog-fighting? What could a man so insanely popular and ridiculously wealthy possibly gain by being even distantly associated with an activity that is so blatantly wrong it leaves an entire nation wondering “What the heck was this guy thinking?”
This is a tragedy in every sense of the word.

Sports tutors help kids take to the outdoors

A number of children in Shanghai are losing interest in outdoor play, making worried parents turn to university students majoring in sports to help their children take to the outdoors.

Lin Hao, a junior high school student in Shanghai, seldom left home during the summer holidays. Whenever his mother asked him to go out, Lin would flatly refuse.

Lin’s mother, Zhang, started getting worried after he stayed home for one whole week playing computer games and eating fast food delivered to their door. Though he could not remember his own home phone number, Lin could recount the phone numbers of fast food restaurants nearby without a moment’s hesitation!

Last week, Zhang visited a tutor-service company and sought out a sports tutor adept at ball games. After several rounds of interviews, Wu Jun, a sophomore at a university near Zhang’s home, was hired to accompany Lin to play outdoors for two hours during the weekends.

At first, Lin was unwilling to go out to meet Wu at the appointed time so Zhang had to accompany him to Wu’s university and supervise his lessons.

But gradually, Lin became interested in playing basketball with Wu and his classmates.

“Now he is excited and keeps talking about the basketball games with his ‘big’ friends after the class,” Zhang said, greatly relieved at the change in her son.

Zhang Mingli, a junior student at a sports college in Shanghai, is busy tutoring four children in swimming and table tennis during the summer holidays.

“We students majoring in physical education are sought after by parents who want sports tutors. We know how to deal with children and also how to protect them from injuries while playing,” Zhang said.

Both Wu Jun and Zhang Mingli said that heavy school workloads and the lack of playmates were the key reasons for children shying away from outdoor play.

Zhang Mingli gave the example of her 9-year-old student Lisa. Lisa has a tight schedule for the summer holidays: swimming and doing homework in the morning, taking supplementary classes in the afternoon and learning calligraphy in her spare time.

“I dare not imagine how busy the little girl is when she attends school,” Zhang said.

She still remembers Lisa crying and refusing to let her mother leave before her first class was over. Zhang attributed this reluctance to Lisa being “the only child in the family with few friends to play with during the holidays.”

On many occasions, Wu accompanied Lin for a walk in the residential quarter in the hope of finding some playmates Lin’s age, but to no avail.

“Maybe they are playing PC games alone or studying at home like Lin did before,” said Wu.